Surrounded by his son, the king-elect Solomon, and an assembly of loyal followers, King David dreamed, rejoiced, gave advice, prayed, and finally died—ending an era that would never again be duplicated in the annals of history.

Consider the aged and otherwise godly David—a father of many, a courageous warrior in battle, a king for nearly four decades, and a sensitive man of God. In spite of these achievements and experiences, he made a foolish decision based on pride and fell into Satan's trap.

Nearing the end of his life, with the pressures almost more than he could handle, David penned one of his greatest works, a song of triumph in the Lord’s strength and provision.

As always in matters of forgiveness, the offended—the forgiver—must pay the cost in full. That takes an awfully big person to pull off. As we shall see, David filled those shoes. Can you?

Recent times with David have been rather dismal and bleak. He'd fallen into compromise and sin…then witnessed his family begin to crumble under the load of sin’s consequences. Going from bad to worse, the king must have felt crushed beneath the weight of overwhelming loneliness and guilt.

We have traced David’s tragic steps downward as the consequences of his disobedience were visited upon him. Now, let’s learn to ride out the whirlwind and the storm when we go through similar times of judgment under the smarting rod of God.

No one is immune who compromises God’s standard. Not even a king…like David. Witness the monarch’s misery as the sword of consequences fell on David and his family. As we watch it happen, let’s take heed!

David refused to repent about his sin until a man of incredible courage and bold honesty stood eyeball-to-eyeball with David and exposed the truth of his deeds and deception. Let's honour that man—the prophet Nathan.

Those of us looking at David's life may use different words to say the same thing about his fatal experience with Bathsheba. We might call it the most distressing episode of David's life; some will see it as an exceedingly dark day; others will lament how the mighty have fallen.

Looking at 2 Samuel 7, we found David enjoying a brief time of relief from the demands of his role as king…an interlude of quietness. Now we find him in a similar context. He was thinking back over his past.